Trail of Blood
by RevealedDarkness
Summary: Bartuc and Horazon's past leading into the realm of Diablo. Chapter 1 up. Please read and review.


Chapter 1

The Arcane Santuary

"Bartuc…" A raspy voice from across the room said. It could only be the voice of his elder brother Horazon. Horazon had been noticed as one of the greatest Vizjerei of his age. Little did outsiders know of the lengths that Horazon and Bartuc were taking. Risking their own lives more times than ought, Bartuc found himself on the wrong end of the stave than anyone would want. Usually this was his brother's doing.

"Bartuc! What are you doing? Help your elder brother get some parchment." Horazon, from what Bartuc could notice, was losing strength due to the numerous hours at his own pedestal. Every moment of the waking day, Horazon would be found in front of one of his thousand books that gave him the knowledge that he had obtained. Bartuc, on the other hand, had been quiet; however, curious.

Walking across the vast room, Bartuc had found the parchment on a desk that looked as if it had been mended by one of his elder brother's spells. "What is it that you are doing brother?"

As if frustrated by his younger brother's question, Horazon went about his interrupted studies. Lost in thought, Bartuc wondered into their past.

Horazon and Bartuc's past hadn't been a great one. A few years after the birth of Bartuc, their mother pasted away. She had been to every healer in Khandaras; however, it was to no prevail. If that wasn't bad enough, times were stretched for their father. Soon after the death of their mother, their father went crazed. Those that knew their father spoke ill of him. Cursing the fact that he spent too much time in his studies of the Vizjerei, and little to no time with his own family, when his death came a couple years later, Horazon and Bartuc wouldn't shed a tear.

Bringing the parchment to his brother, Bartuc looked up at the ceiling. Across the ceiling, an image of the astronomical view of the night before could be seen. The Vizjerei were very curious of astronomy. Religion was tied to astronomy, and if it wasn't foretold by the stars, it wouldn't be true. Such was the same for the normal day. The night before the next day would foretell of the events of the next day. One would say that this would be the logic for a Vizjerei sorcerer never being impressed of the accomplishments during the day.

Horazon, on the other hand, had been deep into his studies for the last ten nights and days. Since he had gone to Lut Gohlein and came back with a dusty old book entitled The Binding of the Three.

"Horazon, is this book what I think it is?" Bartuc's voice cracked a bit as he spoke of the book.

"What book may that be younger brother?"

Noticing the simple snare on his brother's face, Bartuc decided not to answer his elder brother.

"I am close Bartuc. Leave me to my studies for a short time more. Come back at dusk."

In an obedient manner, Bartuc bowed and exited the room.

The day was almost over, only a short time more until dusk would arrive. Meanwhile, there was still some time to practice with his swordsmanship. While his brother may have been considered the greatest Vizjerei, Bartuc's swordsmanship was unmatched. Little did his own brother know that Bartuc had been studying the Vizjerei's works.

Dusk had come. Soon after it had come, Bartuc could be found in the same room as before. This time, however, it was different. The stars could be seen but constellations that had never been seen before stood plainly in the sky for all to see.

"Brother…? …Have you looked at the sky lately?" Bartuc said as he tried to gather all the information that was before him.

Ignoring the question of his younger brother, Horazon's snare crept over his pale face. "Bartuc, it is done! I have finally created what Father could not!"

These last few years had been long and stretched. As if Horazon wasn't even family, Bartuc asked in a deep voice. "What would that be Elder?" Seconds later, he would know.

"The Arcane Sanctuary!" Walking around the pedestal into the middle of a set of seven unique symbols, Horazon disappeared though a blood red portal that would lead to what Horazon had called the Arcane Sanctuary.

Glancing up again at the stars, he found that it was not the past that he was looking at; it was a glance into the future. His brother was truly the greatest Vizjerei.

Crossing through the blood red portal, Bartuc felt an uneasy turn in his stomach. He was no longer in the room that he once stood in. The room that he now stood in had a bizarre dimension. Paths that looked to be going up actually went down, and paths that went down actually went up. Hundreds of blue portals lay at the end of the paths, presumably, these portals connected to the portal at the end of the opposing path. Where he currently was, he could not tell. For all he knew, he was in the middle of the sky itself.

After gazing around for a moment, Bartuc noticed a detail missing, where was his brother? "Horazon… where have you gone?" Bartuc began to look in any possible direction that he may have wondered off to. Unfortunately, the only direction that he could have gone was the stairs that were in front of him. Whether or not this led up or down, he could not figure.

Furthermore, the path looked to be hovering in space itself. The angelic white that radiated from the path caused everything within it's radius to shine with the same brilliance. However, Bartuc was still covered in the same shade of shadow that he normally was.

After walking for some time, Bartuc noticed the pathway open wider. Walking a bit faster to see the change that awaited him, the only thing that awaited him was a group of small statues. These same statues had the same angelic white aura that the path had. However, Bartuc noticed almost immediately that there was more magic at work than met the eye.

"Is this your work brother?" Bartuc yelled through the vast of space. "I wonder why he would create such things. They are almost fiendish." Bartuc spoke silently to himself as he continued past the fiendish statues.

The walk continued for what seemed like an eternity. For Bartuc knew some of the Vizjerei magic, however, he didn't know any teleporting magic. Reaching to his leather belt, Bartuc tugged at his first stamina potion and threw it down his throat with one swallow. Seconds later, and fully recharged, Bartuc found that he was once again willing to walk the never-ending path.

After an eternity of running and a few stamina potions, Bartuc encountered his first sign that his brother had been there. Again, he had found the same seven symbols aligned in the same circular pattern as before. This time it was a bit different. No blood red portal stood in the middle of it. However, each of the symbols was merely a button.

Before Bartuc's own curiosity took hold, a portal appeared before him. Instead of the blood-red that it was before, it was a dark blue. A known figure came through and appeared before the tired Bartuc. "Elder… what are you hoping to accomplish with the Arcane Sanctuary?"

Horazon looked a bit more tired then the last time Bartuc had seen him. "Brother, for I have done what no other magi have done before. I shall show you." With a flick of his staff and a few mumbled words of the Vizjerei tongue, a metallic portal stood before them. A high pitched scream sounded once the portal was being finished. Human heads tried to escape the prison the portal held.

"What is it you are trying to prove?" Bartuc yelled. Temporarily stunned, Horazon glanced at his younger brother with a cold glare and then continued. After a few more words, wrath would be unleashed to the realm of the Arcane Sanctuary.


End file.
